By Ilana Newman for The Daily Yonder.
Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collaboration

Kevin Connor spent a few months living in the Bridge Homeless Shelter transitional housing when he first moved to Cortez, Colorado, after getting out of La Plata County Jail. The Bridge has 12 transitional housing units with most residents paying under $200 a month for housing. 

After leaving the Bridge, Connor lived in a hotel for a bit but was paying more than $400 a week and found it unsustainable. After that, he lived in a storage room at one of his workplaces for four months. 

Connor couldn’t afford a rental in Cortez even while holding multiple jobs.

According to a housing needs assessment, presented at a city council meeting for the City of Cortez, Montezuma County, Colorado, has had the greatest rate of housing cost increases in the State of Colorado between 2018 and 2022 — 16% per year.

Most importantly, for people like Connor who need an affordable place to rent, there are very few rentals that fit the definition of “affordable housing,” which means that they are available for less than 30% of the area median income. In Cortez, for a one-person household, this is around $863, according to Colorado’s Baseline Assistance Tool. During the time of this reporting, the Daily Yonder was able to locate fewer than five rental offers on local rental websites that fit that price range.

In 2022, Colorado voted to approve Proposition 123, which modified the state’s affordable housing programs to create a State Affordable Housing Fund. Several hundred million dollars will be available for municipalities, counties, and tribes to implement affordable housing. To receive the funding, however, municipalities, counties, or tribes have to commit to raise their affordable housing by 9% in three years above a baseline number, determined by the Baseline Assistance Tool. 

Numbers Matter

The issue is that some of the data provided by the Baseline Assistance Tool is wrong. 

According to the tool, the town of Dolores (also in Montezuma County), which has a population of 805, has 334 available units, and 282 affordable units. But the Town of Dolores has 543 households, which would mean that half of the households in Dolores are living in affordable rentals, which is untrue. According to the Tool, this means that Dolores needs to create 30 new affordable units in the next three years.

“There’s not a place to put 30 units in Dolores,” said Shalako Powers, who is currently working on updating this incorrect data. “It’s confined by walls of the canyon on both sides and then a hill coming out on the west and a river canyon on the east. Where are you going to put 30 units in Dolores?”

Powers works for Region 9, the economic district that contains Montezuma County as well as the neighboring four counties that make up Southwest Colorado. Region 9 is a nonprofit community economic development corporation that works closely with the counties and cities on projects like housing, broadband, transit, and other types of economic development.

When Powers spotted the discrepancy in the data, which was originally presented in a publicly available spreadsheet, he worked with the Colorado Division of Housing to develop the Baseline Assistance Tool. Municipalities are required to use this data, but the Baseline Assistance Tool allows the user to adjust for inflation, housing size, and other variables. This means the number can get closer to what feels reasonable for municipalities to commit to. 

But even after committing to Proposition 123, municipalities are then only eligible for the money from the Affordable Housing Fund. Nonprofits, developers, or governments can apply for the grant but are not guaranteed funding. Powers is worried that even if the towns or counties in Southwest Colorado did commit to Proposition 123, they would not receive the funding. 

“Proposition 123 failed in Montezuma County,” said Powers in a Daily Yonder interview. “It did pass as a state but it failed here. My concern is that we’re going to see what we always see. The taxpayers of our rural areas aren’t going to get their money back in their tax refund and none of that money is gonna come back here to provide housing and the people here are just going to get screwed like they always do.” Powers referred to how Proposition 123 passed by 52.6% for the state of Colorado, but lost by 54% in Montezuma County, reflecting the community’s conservative-leaning politics and lack of belief in the solution behind Proposition 123. 

Powers thinks that cities and counties on the Front Range — where the population centers of Denver, Colorado Springs, and Boulder are located — will get the majority of the money because they have grant writers who can pursue it, compared to the more rural areas on the Western Slope where there are fewer staff able to pursue funding. Municipalities have until November 1, 2023, to submit their commitment to qualify for funding. 

A Universal Problem

In the days following the Daily Yonder interview, Connor secured housing – a $750 trailer in Cortez. But he said about the unit that “The entire park should have [been] condemned 20 years ago. These places are almost 50 year old dumps. I also think what I’m in right now was condemned at some point.”

Daniel Stern, communications and outreach manager for the Washington, D.C.-based Housing Assistance Council, said that other rural areas around the country are facing similar challenges around housing availability and affordability. The common issues he sees are lack of supply, aging supply, and a challenge with scaling construction in rural areas. 

“In a rural area, if you need 40 homes or a multi-family house, it’s harder to make that profitable for construction,” Stern said. “That’s why you see so much luxury construction because that’s what pencils out the most unless you use some of the federal programs that are built for building out affordable housing. But those programs… really, really work once you get to a certain scale and that scale is hard to achieve in rural areas.”


Ilana Newman wrote this article for The Daily Yonder.


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Residents in a South Bend mobile home community oppose a management rule banning standard window air conditioners.

According to the management's website, Countryside Village imposed the policy to "maintain the appearance and standards of the community." The dangerously hot weather can pose health risks but one lawmaker questions if the rule is masking another purpose: to force lower-income dwellers out of the community.

Sen. David Niezgodski, D-South Bend, has asked Attorney General Todd Rokita to step in.

"I asked for his assistance to try to put, if nothing else, a stay with the owners of Countryside Village from requesting that tenants there that have window air conditioners to not have those removed in the dead heat of the summer," Niezgodski explained.

The 2024 State of Fair Housing Indiana Report said state health department records show there were almost 1,100 registered mobile home communities across Indiana as of 2023, with an estimated 89,000 total housing lots. Of those homes, 69% are owner-occupied and 31% are renter-occupied mobile manufactured home units.

The report also showed in land-leased communities, resident homeowners are subjected to the rules and regulations of the park owner and their designated property managers. The air conditioning ban points to a larger argument of landlord and tenant rights under Indiana housing law.

Niezgodski acknowledged legislation in 2020 supported the ban, despite a gubernatorial veto removing local government intervention in cases which would increase tenant rights and protections. He has spoken with two other legislators about changes to the measure.

"The legislation that was passed was never intended for these types of things to happen," Niezgodski stressed. "What I hope is that we can collectively come together and figure out a way that brings attention to this and helps to alleviate something from happening in this matter again."

Niezgodski applauded community support through several donations of internal air conditioning units without visible outside parts to the residents but he remains concerned the potential existed for people to lose their homes or be placed, in his words, "in an untenable situation" due to the extreme heat because of a lack of cool air.


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Minimum wage workers in Colorado have to work two full-time jobs, or 82 hours per week, to afford a one-bedroom apartment, according to a new report from the National Low-Income Housing Coalition.

There are just 26 affordable housing units in Colorado for every 100 low-income households but almost all new housing comes with price tags only top earners and investors can pay.

Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, said the report underscored the need to build more low- and middle-income housing.

"And not just building housing that is luxury, or market rate, and oftentimes out of reach even for households that are receiving more than the minimum wage," Alderman stressed.

The report cited decades of disinvestment in public-housing initiatives as the primary driver of the nation's current shortage of more than 7 million affordable housing units. There is not a single state or major metropolitan area with enough housing for its lowest-income workers. Colorado's most expensive areas include Summit, Eagle and Pitkin counties, and Metro Denver. But moderate- to low-income tenants still cannot afford the rent in the state's least expensive areas.

Alderman noted the Trump administration is pushing to cut the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's overall budget by 44%, including programs developing affordable housing.

"And a cut to programs that provide rental-assistance funding for lower-income households, which is oftentimes the only way that low-wage earners can make up the difference between their wages and the cost of housing," Alderman added.

Colorado's minimum wage is $14.81 per hour, and it's $18.81 in Denver but the report calculated full-time workers need to earn at least $36.79 per hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment. Alderman argued to prevent more people from entering the cycle of homelessness, the state needs to find ways to double down on its affordable housing investments.

"Even in an environment like Colorado where the minimum wage is far outpacing the federal minimum wage, and we know that wages continue to rise, they simply can't keep up with the cost of housing," Alderman stated.

By Marilyn Odendahl for The Indiana Citizen.
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Indiana Citizen-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service Collaboration.

Just as a new report is highlighting that two-thirds of Indiana's largest occupations are paying less than what workers need to cover rent, Gov. Mike Braun has indicated he sees housing as key to the state's economic health.

Braun spoke with reporters on Thursday at Huntington University following the ceremonial signing of Senate Enrolled Act 306, which allows taxpayers to transfer film and media production tax credits. The Republican governor was asked about the recent call by housing advocates to create a commission to examine and propose solutions to address the state's housing affordability crisis.

"Housing has been a chronic issue," Braun said. "We're not going to get economic development if we don't have enough housing as we build the workforce."

The "Out of Reach - Indiana 2025" report, published by Prosperity Indiana and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, found Hoosier workers need to earn $22.18 per hour to afford a "modest two-bedroom apartment" at the fair market rental rate of $1,153 per month in Indiana. That "housing wage" enables renters to spend no more than 30% of their household income on housing and utilities and avoid having to make the difficult choices to forego basic needs like food and medical care in order to afford a place to live, according to the report.

However in Indiana, the current average renter wage is $18.05 an hour, which, as the report notes, is $4.13 less than the state's housing wage for an apartment with two bedrooms. The disparity between paychecks and rent is especially acute since the state's median renter household income of $43,672 is the lowest in the Midwest, but its housing costs are "typical for the region."

Moreover, the report found that 76% of Hoosiers working in the top 20 occupations in Indiana - 810,610 employees - are making a median hourly wage that is less than the wage needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment. These workers include waiters and waitresses, nursing assistants, child-care workers, stockers and order fillers, and customer service representatives.

That gap appears to be getting wider. According to the report, 14 of Indiana's "top 20 most common occupations" pay median wages below the state's 2025 housing wage. This is an increase from nine occupations in 2022.

The state's affordability crisis is even worse for workers making the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The report noted that Hoosiers working at minimum wage must have 3.1 full-time jobs, the equivalent of working 122 hours per week, to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

Andrew Bradley, senior director of policy and strategy for Prosperity Indiana, said the report underscores the need for federal, state and local policymakers to be "laser-focused" on making housing more affordable across Indiana. Also, he renewed the call for Braun to convene a housing commission to help address these issues.

"Given Indiana's growing housing crisis, Prosperity Indiana and the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition strongly urge Gov. Braun to use his leadership and entrepreneurial know-how to create and convene a Commission on Housing Safety, Stability, and Affordability, and by doing so, cement himself as Indiana's first Housing Governor," Bradley told The Indiana Citizen. "While there are resources available to increase the supply and affordability of housing in Indiana, they are currently scattered through public agencies and segments of the private sector that don't often coordinate. Only a governor has the bully pulpit and convening power to bring together the right stakeholders to align existing resources, eliminate barriers, and drive the improved housing outcomes that Hoosiers and their communities need to thrive."

The idea for the governor to appoint a housing commission was first presented to Braun's predecessor, Gov. Eric Holcomb. Although Holcomb did not assemble such a group, housing advocates have not given up on their proposal. They are trying to convince Braun to take action.

In June, Prosperity Indiana and the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition delivered a letter to the current governor urging him to create a Commission on Housing Safety, Stability and Affordability to address the state's "shortage of safe, healthy, and affordable homes accessible to the most vulnerable Hoosiers." The letter was signed by 665 organizations and individuals, including housing providers and developers, homeless prevention specialists, community service agencies and faith-based groups, from around Indiana.

Asked on Thursday about the advocates' call for a housing commission, Braun did not dismiss the idea.

"I will always seek advice, whether it's through a commission or just gathering the input like I've done in government and in the business world," Braun said. "That's what makes you successful."

In the letter, the organizations and individuals said a commission was needed because the "incremental steps" taken by policymakers have not been enough to address the state's housing affordability crisis. A commission, they said, could foster cooperation between government agencies, courts and nonprofits to help bolster housing resources, clean up the "patchwork of codes for health and safety standards," coordinate administrative and court rules, and recommend new legislation.

The letter did note the positive impact on Indiana's housing supply through the funding of the Residential Housing Infrastructure Assistance Program (RIF) and the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI).

However, the advocates said, Indiana still has a housing crisis. For every 100 "extreme low-income Hoosier households," the state only has 38 affordable rental homes available, the second-lowest rate in the Midwest. Also, the advocates said, 74% of these households spend more than half of their income on housing expenses, the highest rate in the Midwest.

Lauren Murfree, policy analyst for the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute, said the lack of affordable housing is detrimental to Hoosiers' economic viability. Without stable housing, she said, working Hoosiers are having trouble obtaining and retaining employment.

"If our goal is to provide an economically stable and sustainable state, housing solutions are key, and the creation of a housing commission would provide the governor with the ability to gather experts together to help ground solutions in evidenced-based approaches," Murfree said. "We are excited that the governor has recently expressed openness and willingness to engage with the topic of housing and look forward to outreach and engagement from his staff on this topic so that we can work together toward addressing our housing crisis."


Marilyn Odendahl wrote this article for The Indiana Citizen.


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